


Home is Where Your Constellations Are

by WinterAndLittleBrunettes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Kick, M/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents, Post S8, Post-Canon, Returning Home, Sleepy Cuddles, klance is canon king, nerf gun wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28620624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterAndLittleBrunettes/pseuds/WinterAndLittleBrunettes
Summary: After Honerva is defeated and all realities are saved, the team returns to Earth to spend some well-deserved time with their families. But Keith quickly realizes he has a dilemma; does he go to his shack in the desert, if it's still standing, or go back to space to find his mom and help her? Fortunately, Lance has a third suggestion -- go to Cuba with him and meet his family, officially, as his boyfriend.A post s8 fic where everybody lives and everything is happy.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 156
Collections: Klance_soft_stories_2





	Home is Where Your Constellations Are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissK216](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissK216/gifts).



> A commission I did for my friend Kass! It took me a while to get it done due to covid as well as a lack of motivation/inspiration, but lo and behold, I finally finished it!
> 
> She requested I write a post s8 klance fic where everyone lived and everyone was happy where Lance takes Keith home with him to Cuba to meet his family as his boyfriend, and I can honestly say I had a blast writing it!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it! <3

# Home is Where Your Constellations Are

As soon as Black’s paws touched the ground, Keith sunk back in his seat and breathed out a bone-deep sigh. _They were finally_ **_home_** _._

After everything went down with Honerva and the collapsing realities, Allura and Lotor stayed back on New Altea to ensure that everything fell back on track. Meanwhile the rest of the team decided it was time to head back to Earth for some much needed rest and family time. There wasn’t much of a need for Voltron as a weapon anymore.

Keith agreed, obviously, because everyone else’s families were on Earth. He wasn’t selfish enough to keep everyone from their loved ones. Especially not when Lance was involved.

_Lance._ Who was now his boyfriend, somehow. He still wasn’t sure how he managed to swing that. But Lance had been the biggest supporter for coming back to Earth for a bit to relax after the war. They saved the universe after all, he’d said, so for that, they deserved some time off.

And Keith never had the heart to deny Lance anything.

“It’s so good to be home,” Keith said with a sigh through the comms. “Wasn’t sure if we’d ever see this again.”

“No kidding,” Pidge agreed, sounding like she was already leaving the Green Lion’s cockpit before she even landed. “I swear that wormhole took _forever_ to bring us back here.”

“You know it was no longer than any of the other wormholes we’ve travelled through,” Shiro scolded softly, landing the Atlas in its bay in the middle of the Garrison. “We made pretty good time from New Altea.”

“I’m with Pidge,” Lance piped up, landing his lion right beside Black. “It took forever! I can’t wait to go back to Cuba. I didn’t even have time to go to the beach the last time I was home! A travesty, really.”

“You mean a tragedy,” Pidge corrected, not unkindly, but Lance just bip-bip-bipped at her until she let it go.

Hunk’s face popped up in the Black Lion’s cockpit suddenly, and he was licking his lips with a dreamy look in his eyes. “I can’t wait for my mom’s cooking. I’m a good cook--”

“Duh,” Pidge said at the same time Lance said “Obviously”.

“--but nothing is as good as mom’s home cooking.”

“You have to promise to tell me if or when your mom makes donuts again,” Lance demanded, his face popping up beside Hunk’s. “I’ve never been closer to heaven than when I was eating one of her delicacies.”

“Amen to that,” Hunk agreed.

Keith couldn’t help but smile, listening to his teammates reminisce like this. He was happy for them, he truly was, but it made him wish he had fond memories like that. There was only so many times soda cracker cereal or kraft dinner was good. “I hope she makes them, then.”

“Don’t worry,” Hunk assured, “I’ll let everyone know so you guys can come on over! My mom loves feeding people, and I know she’d definitely want to feed my friends.”

“I don’t know about everyone else,” Shiro spoke up, sounding a little cheeky, “but I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

“Same,” Pidge agreed enthusiastically.

“If it’s okay with your mom, I would too,” Keith said hesitantly. He certainly would love to try some of her cooking, especially if it was even better than her son’s. But he just didn’t want to intrude on their family time.

Lance waved dismissively. “Don’t even worry, babe! Mrs. Garrett is a sweetheart. She’ll try to fatten you up, like, two seconds after she sees your skinny little ass.”

“Hey, I thought you _liked_ my skinny little ass?”

The rest of the team laughed while Lance’s cheeks reddened, but he still stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. “Maybe,” Lance admitted with a cute pout.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw Pidge jetpack out of her lion, heading towards the Garrison to find her family. Hunk landed his lion beside Pidge’s, and his face disappeared from the video feed when he left his lion’s cockpit, hot on her heels. Keith knew he was really looking forward to seeing his family.

Keith chewed at his lip, watching as Lance’s face disappeared as well. He was really happy to be back on Earth, and happy that each of his teammates were excited to be home with their families, but…

He had no idea what he was gonna do.

His mom was still out in space, _somewhere,_ doing her best to find hidden members of the Blade of Marmora and bring them out of hiding, but he wasn’t sure where. He could go back out there and find her… But he wasn’t all that eager to leave Earth yet. So he supposed he could go see if his shack was still standing.

_If_ it was still standing, he’d be pretty lonely out there.

“Hey, pretty boy,” Lance said gently through the comms. When Keith glanced up, he could see Lance standing on the end of Black’s nose, arms crossed loosely over his chest and staring into the cockpit. “You comin’ or what?”

“Oh, y-yeah,” Keith stuttered out. He pressed a quick button on his dashboard before jumping out through the roof of the cockpit. “Sorry.”

“You’re good,” Lance said, holding his hand out to Keith to take.

With a smile, Keith stepped forward to do it without question. Holding hands was such a simple thing, but being able to tangle his fingers with Lance’s was something he’d never take for granted. It gave him such joy to finally be able to do it.

“Are you happy to be home?” Lance asked gently.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to watching the sunset here.”

“Here at the Garrison specifically, or just Earth’s in general?”

“Both, I guess?” Keith said hesitantly. “The shack on my dad’s property isn’t too far from the Garrison here, so I’ll be seeing a very similar sunset as the school--”

“Wait wait wait,” Lance interrupted, his free hand clutching firmly at Keith’s shoulder, “you’re not staying _here,_ are you?”

Unease settled heavily in the pit of Keith’s stomach. “Well, I-- I’m not really sure what else _to_ do.” He shrugged slightly and looked up towards the sky, where they entered Earth’s atmosphere not even five dobashes ago. “I could go see about finding my mom? I’m sure she’d love the help finding the remaining Blade soldiers… Or I can go back to the shack, see if it’s even still there. I really hope it is, I’ve got pictures and stuff of my pop there… I guess I could also help out at the Garrison, but that’s not really taking time off--”

“I thought you were coming home with _me_ ,” Lance’s brows were pinched as he said this. “Back to Cuba.”

Shock and relief flooded Keith’s system, wiping away any sense of unease he’d been feeling. “Really? You-- You want me to go to Cuba with you?”

“Of course I do,” Lance said softly, brushing Keith’s long bangs back from his forehead. “That was my first thought when we agreed to come back to Earth. I kept thinking about how I could show you the beach where I learned how to surf, the marks in the kitchen doorway showing how much each of us kids grew each year, the family pictures lining the hall…”

Keith’s eyes were dampening with tears at Lance’s confession, but he didn’t dare stop him.

“But most of all, I want to show you my childhood bedroom.” Lance confessed. “I’ve never shown it to anyone-- Well, other than Hunk, but he’s my bro-- The point is, I haven’t shown my room to anyone I love the way I love you, so I want you to be the first to see it.”

That made the dam finally burst, tears finally slipping from Keith’s eyes to track their traitorous paths down his cheeks. “I’d love to see it,” he said around the lump in his throat. “But are you sure you want me to go to your childhood home?”

That seemed to puzzle Lance. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s just… Your family’s already met me.”

“Yeah…?”

“Well, they know me as your leader, teammate and friend.” Keith explained. “But your _boyfriend?_ Do they even know you like guys?”

“Dude, I’m as bisexual as they come,” Lance gestured down at himself with a bit of a laugh. “My family had a pretty good idea before I’d even _heard_ of the term ‘bi’. They didn’t even blink when I came out to them. They were kinda just, waiting for me to tell them.”

“Okay, but still… Have you ever brought a boy home before?”

Lance was quiet for a moment too long, so Keith took that as his answer. “I didn’t think so. I--I’m just worried what they might think--”

“Hey, listen,” Lance interrupted softly, his hand coming up to cup Keith’s cheek. “I haven’t brought that many people to my home. Like, at all. The only other person I’ve introduced to my parents was Allura, but after that night, we both realized we loved each other, but we weren’t _in love_ .” His thumb rubbed along Keith’s cheek as he talked. It was likely to soothe himself, but it comforted Keith as well. “I don’t bring just _anybody_ home. I make sure they’re worth my time, and that I’m committed to them before I do.

“I don’t want somebody I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life with to meet my family.” Lance explained. “That’s not fair to them or to my partner. It’s stressful enough meeting your boyfriend’s family, let alone _my_ family. I know they’re a lot sometimes, but--”

“They mean the world to you,” Keith interrupted gently. “And you mean the world to them.”

Lance smiled and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Keith’s lips. “See? You get it. Not everybody does. So _trust me_ when I say you have nothing to worry about.”

“I dunno,” Keith disagreed, “them meeting me now as your _boyfriend_ is a whole different thing. They liked me as your teammate, but what if they don’t think I’m good enough for you? What if they--”

“Hey,” Lance cut in, putting a delicate finger to Keith’s lips, “that’s not gonna happen. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Do you love me?”

Now it was Keith’s turn to be confused. “Wh-- _Yes,_ I love you, you know this--”

“So will my family.” Lance said with a smile. “You love me, support me, and want to help me become the absolute best version of myself, no matter how long it takes.” 

“I do.” Keith said with a nod. “You’re such an amazing guy, Lance, and you have so much love to give. Anyone on the receiving end of that should realize how lucky they are. I know I am.”

“Aww, angelface,” Lance cooed, “you know you get the most of my love.”

Keith shook his head with a soft huff, a fondly disgusted look on his face. “No. Just-- no.”

“Don’t like ‘angelface’?”

“Not a pet name I fancy, no.”

“Babydoll?”

“Do I look like some doe-eyed chick?”

“Honey?”

“...Possibly.”

“I’ll take it.” Lance said mischievously. “How about muffin? Sunshine? Ooo, what about starlight?”

Keith leveled him with a look, and Lance raised his hands in surrender. “Not a topic for right now, got it.” Lance relented. “But _trust me_ when I say we’ll be coming back to this conversation, mister.”

“Alright, whatever,” Keith crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes fondly at his boyfriend.

“No no,” Lance said, “we’re putting a pin in this conversation, see?” He gestured putting a pin in a wall, like he was hanging up a photo, or making a new connection on a conspiracy board. “See? Pinned. We’ll take the pin out when we’re ready to discuss pet names for you that you can stand.”

“I can live with that pin being up for a bit,” Keith said cheekily.

That earned him a light smack on his chestplate. “Smartass,” Lance jabbed, but the curve of his lips told Keith how he really felt. “Alright, enough lollygagging. It’s time to get going to Cuba.”

“Alright, I’m ready.” Keith smiled. “Which lion are we taking, if any?”

“I’m thinking Red, if that’s okay with you?” Lance reached between them to link their hands together again. “She’s the faster of our two lions, but my main concern is size. Our backyard is pretty big, but I don’t think it’s fit for the Black Lion.”

Keith glanced down at his own lion and nodded agreeingly. “Good point. Let’s go.”

With that, they jetpacked back over to the Red Lion, ready for the second half of their journey.

“Does anyone need a ride?” Lance offered, broadcasting to the group again.

“I’m good,” Pidge replied. “My parents and I are just waiting for Matt to leave the Atlas.”

“Sorry,” Shiro cut in, “I was holding him back. He’s on his way now.”

“I’m good too,” Hunk added. There seemed to be someone with him, but they were talking too quietly to hear. After a moment, Hunk spoke up again, “Actually, Lance, your sister just asked for a ride. Can you come get her?”

Lance groaned good-naturedly, but agreed to give her a ride. They were all going to the same place, after all.

“I’m good too,” Shiro finally said, “Adam and I will be hanging back at the Garrison to tie up a few loose ends before heading home.”

“Don’t work too long, brother,” Keith chastised gently. “If _I’m_ taking a break, you deserve to take one too.”

Shiro laughed fondly. “I won’t, I promise. If I’m still here when you land in Cuba, feel free to give me hell.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once Lance landed Red in the Atlas’ bay, Veronica came running up to the ship, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, impatiently waiting for the lion’s head to lower. Just as soon as she was able, she jumped into her mouth and came running up into the cockpit.

“I’m so excited to be going home!” She exclaimed, running right over to Lance to envelop him in a tight hug. “It’s been _ages_!”

“Hey, shove off sis!” Lance complained. “I’m trying to drive!”

She stuck her tongue out at him, but released him from her hold. “You’ve driven with much worse than your sister hanging off of you.”

Keith hummed agreeingly. “True.”

Lance threw a look back over his shoulder at his boyfriend. “Not helping.”

“What? It’s true,” Keith said, leaning against the side of the pilot’s seat. “I can remember you dodging and deeking around laser beams while keeping Galra ships off my tail, and you _still_ found the time to flirt. Having Ronnie hugging you while you drive should be nothing.”

“Enough with the backseat driving!” Lance exclaimed, waving a dismissive hand about. “Yes, I’m a good pilot, we all know this, but that wasn’t the point!”

  
“Oh?” Veronica asked slyly. “Then what _was_ the point, you whiny baby?”

“The point was that I don’t need to be smothered in hugs from my big sister.” Lance pouted. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you every day for the past few months. We lived on the same ship, for heaven’s sake!”

Veronica hummed noncommittally, and Keith couldn’t help but chuckle. _Siblings._

The rest of the drive was spent in relative peace. Veronica went to sit at the back of the cockpit with her phone in hand, probably texting Axca to see what her plans were. Once they were a few minutes out from Cuba, Lance opened a comm to Shiro to see if he was still working. If the embarrassed flush was anything to go by, Keith gave his brother a firm scolding to get him to _go home already._

“Speaking of home,” Lance said, closing the call with Shiro. “We’re here.”

Ahead, Keith spotted a series of houses nestled along the beach, all similar in size and stature. But towards the end stood a bigger house, mismatched with various additions added on over the years. It had the McClains’ written _all_ over it.

“Ugh, I’m so excited to be home,” Veronica droned, throwing an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “You’re gonna love it here. Just remember to put sunscreen on, you pasty boy.”

“Hey, don’t talk to my boyfriend like that!” Lance exclaimed, throwing his sister a look over his shoulder. “Besides, you _know_ we’re gonna bond over slathering sunscreen all over each other’s scantily clad bodies.”

Veronica shuddered and removed herself from Keith’s side while Keith just chortled. “Serves you right,” he told her.

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” she said dismissively, “I’m not the one who’s gotta get through the McClain hazing process.”

Keith paled at that. “The what now?”

“Don’t scare him off, Ronnie!” Lance hissed. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to convince him to come here?”

“Hey, he may as well know what he’s getting into,” Ronnie defended. “Last boy I brought around here had no idea, and he fled faster than a cat on a hot tin roof.”

“Is that why you swore off boys?” Keith smirked.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. “Partially,” she relented. “But also, have you _seen_ girls? Beautiful hair, curves _and_ boobs.”

Keith gave her a dry look.

“Right,” she said bashfully. “But seriously, _boobs._ That’s all I need to say.”

“I could say the same thing about d--”

“Hey look we’re landing in our backyard!” Lance exclaimed, covering up whatever Keith was about to say. “And mama’s already waiting on the porch, like she always is, so we now cannot say anything blasphemous in her presence.”

With a squeal, Veronica made a break for the mouth of the Red Lion, jumping out of her maw before her ramp was even opening. Lance chuckled fondly at his sister’s eagerness, and made his way more conscientiously to the exit.

Along the way, he stopped to grab Keith’s hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it before using it to lead him down to the backyard. “C’mon, let’s go introduce you to my family as my boyfriend.”

Keith tried to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat, but still gave Lance a weak smile and a nod, following him where he led. He’d never steered him wrong before, and he knew he wouldn’t start now.

As soon as they stepped off the Red Lion’s ramp, Mrs. McClain smiled warmly at her son and opened her arms out wide for him. Without any hesitation, Lance’s hand slipped from Keith’s as he ran over to his mama, joining in on the steadily growing McClain family hug.

Keith hung back, watching Lance reunite with his family again with a wistful smile. He didn’t want to intrude on such an important moment. It’d been months since he’d seen his family in the flesh, and Keith knew that killed him every day that they were up in space. Video calls just didn’t cut it, and Keith could understand that. He truly did. During the time he spent with the Blade, only seeing his Voltron family through a screen for months on end was hard, harder than he ever imagined it would be.

He was a little envious, though. He’d never had a big family like this before Voltron. Lance probably got hugs like that all the time growing up.

Suddenly, Mrs. McClain broke from the rest of the family’s hug, walking over towards him with a confident purpose he recognized in her youngest son. As soon as she was about halfway, she slowed to a stop and opened her arms out wide. Just like she had for her own children.

With a bit of trepidation, Keith started towards her. A slight tremor ran through him, despite his best efforts to push past it. But as soon as he was close enough to smell her warm, inviting scent, he melted into her with no hesitation.

“Welcome home, my boy,” she whispered in his ear, giving him a tight squeeze. Keith fought the urge to squeak between her arms, both at the pressure and the sentiment. She was a _lot_ stronger than her compact frame let on.

Before he could come to terms with one McClain hugging him, more arms encircled them, until he no longer knew where he began and another person ended. The hug lingered for a long moment before everyone stepped back unanimously, giving Mrs. McClain and Keith space.

But Lance’s other sister, Rachel, was the first to speak up: “What, no McClain hazing, mama?”

Lance swiftly cuffed the back of her head, hissing at her to shut up.

Mrs. McClain only chuckled fondly. “No need to haze this one,” she declared. “He’s already home.”

Keith couldn’t help but blush at that. Fortunately, Lance was quick to save him, shouldering past his siblings to get to Keith’s side. He immediately wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed a kiss to his cheek, making his siblings gag while his mama just laughed fondly at her son’s antics. Keith leaned into his touch gratefully, so glad to have his support through this.

“C’mon,” Lance whispered in his ear, “let’s go up to my room and escape my family for a while.”

“But you came home to spend time with them,” Keith argued gently. “I don’t mind, I promise.”

Lance looked a little conflicted, but before he could say anything, two little pairs of hands grabbed onto Keith. Keith’s gaze dipped down to the two smaller humans now hanging off his arm with shock and surprise. He distantly realized that these were Lance’s niece and nephew, Sylvio and Nadia.

“Keith, come play with us!” Sylvio begged.

Mama McClain tutted. “That’s not how you ask for something, now is it?” She scolded gently.

“Keith, will you come play with us?” Sylvio rephrased.

“ _Please?_ ” Nadia begged, filling in the word their abuela was looking for.

Unsure what to say, Keith nodded, and before he knew it, he was on the porch, dragged there by two tweens. _What is it with McClain strength?_ Keith thought to himself.

“Waitwaitwait!” Lance called after them, causing Nadia and her brother to pause. “We shouldn’t smother my boyfriend three seconds after he gets here! Let us get settled in first. We’re still in our Paladin armour, for goodness’ sake!”

Keith opened his mouth to echo Lance’s sentiment, but then he caught two identical expressions on the kids’ faces, silently begging him to play with them. With a soft sigh, he relented: “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. They really want to play.”

Sylvio and Nadia jumped back into action, crying out with joy as they dragged him into the house.

Keith tried to take a look at his surroundings, to see the house Lance grew up in, but he was swiftly pulled through the entryway into a new, bigger room off to the side, where couches were huddled around a television. Must be the living room. The kids led him towards the couch, only to push him down onto it while they retrieved their toys.

Nadia was the first to return, with two toy guns in her hands. The side of one read ‘ _Nerf_ ’, which she passed to him. It was big, presumably adult-sized.

“Let’s play with these!” Sylvio exclaimed, coming back with his own gun. It was big as well, reminding Keith vaguely of their uncle’s Paladin rifle.

Keith fiddled with his gun for a moment, trying to figure it out. There was a standard pull trigger, which was simple enough, but it didn’t fire anything when he pulled it.

“Oh!” Nadia exclaimed, and rushed off, scanning the floor for something. Beneath the couch she retrieved a few small objects, which she handed to Keith. _The bullets,_ he realized distantly. They were foam, so they wouldn’t hurt when hitting a fleshy target, and the suction cups on the tip surely meant they would stick to something. “Press them into the nozzle to load your Nerf gun up!” She explained.

Keith did as she instructed, albeit a little hesitantly. “Y’know, guns are more your uncle’s thing,” he said gently. “He’s the sharpshooter of our team.”

“But Uncle Lance told us you used a gun, too!” Sylvio piped up.

“Yeah!” Nadia agreed. “But he also told us that your main weapon is a sword.”

“Well, I prefer a sword per hand, actually,” Keith said sheepishly, “but you’re right, swords are my main weapon.”

The sound of voices neared the house, until the front door flew open with a bang and the voices became louder. Lance’s was the loudest of all; “Luis, get your kids under control! I want to spend time with my boyfriend!”

“Aww, but they’re all playing so nicely!” Lisa cooed. Keith turned just in time to see the entire family lingering in the doorway, looking in on him with the kids. “They’ve even shared one of their Nerf guns with him!”

Lance shouldered through his family to see for himself. But as soon as he was in clear sight, Keith lifted his gun and shot at him.

Lance stumbled back a bit in surprise when a bullet struck it’s target; his armour now displayed a foam Nerf bullet on his chest, right over his heart. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly, seemingly flustered at the sight.

Keith just smirked. “Who knows, I just might be a sharpshooter too? I know the way to my man’s heart.”

Laughter echoed around the room, but Keith was more focused on the blush his words brought to his boyfriend’s cheeks. It was nice to know that he could fluster Lance, too, and not just be flustered by him.

“You sneaky little quizn-- _Ooh,_ ” Lance ripped the bullet from his front and threw it to the ground. Then he stomped into the room, stole the gun from him and pulled him up from the couch. “Sorry kids, Uncle Lance’s gotta steal his boyfriend for a bit.”

“Aww, but Uncle _Laaaaance_ \--” the kids tried to whine.

But Lance had a stronger constitution than Keith, and was able to stand firm against his niece and nephew’s pleas. He gave Keith a gentle shove, urging him towards the stairs while he promised the kids that they would play with them after supper.

As he started up the first steps, something _thunked_ against his ass. He whirled around to see who and what did it, but Lance was still a few steps behind, standing there with the toy gun pointing to the ceiling. The cocky smirk he wore was telling enough, but then he had the audacity to blow imaginary smoke from the barrel. _His boyfriend had shot him in the ass with the same toy he’d used moments before._ “Oh, is that how it’s gonna be?” He smirked dangerously.

Lance nodded and threw the toy onto the couch. “Might wanna check out your _ass_ -ets,” he said coyly.

Confused, Keith reached back blindly, only to find a bullet protruding from his ass, smack dab in the middle of his right cheek. Mortified, he ripped it from the material of his flight suit and threw it at Lance before booking it up the stairs. Laughter followed him up the steps, but so did Lance, hot on his heels.

Before he could get too far, though, Lance caught up with him, stopping him by wrapping his arms around his waist and dragging him back against his chest. “Where are you going, mister?” He whispered in his ear.

“I can’t believe you shot a Nerf bullet at my _ass_ ,” Keith hissed instead, ignoring Lance’s question.

“You shot me first, remember?” Lance reminded him, grabbing onto Keith’s hands instead to link their fingers together. “Right in the heart. Cruelly. Ruthlessly. _Efficiently._ ”

“It’s like I said,” Keith pulled one of their linked hands up to his mouth, kissing the back of Lance’s palm, “I know the way to my man’s heart.”

Being pressed together like this, Keith could feel the effect his words had on Lance; the hitch in his breath, the shudder that coursed down his spine, and the breathy exhale breathed into his hair. It made him so fucking pleased.

“That you do,” Lance relented, giving Keith’s hands a squeeze before detangling and stepping out in front of him. “But in all seriousness, where were you trying to escape to?”

“Your room? Though, I’m not sure whose is whose.”

“You would’ve figured it out pretty fast,” Lance chuckled, and gestured down the hallway. “Mine still has my name on it.”

With that bit of information, Keith started down the hall, scanning each of the doors as he walked past. Most of the doors were open, revealing a kaleidoscope of colours inside; one room was very elegant, done in pretty greys, purples and white, while another was more of a girly girl’s room done in a series of cute pinks. Another was a dark green, and part of the sticker name tag still remained on the door; Ma--o. The last open door was a dark blue, but seemed to have been recently remodeled. At the very end of the hall, there were two closed doors, one on the left with a fancy lever door knob, and the right with the only intact name tag: ‘Lance’.

“Here we are,” Lance declared. He paused in front of the door, taking a deep breath before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

Inside, the first thing Keith saw was blue. Not the same as his brother’s room, but a blue that just screamed ‘Lance’. Everything was blue; the walls, ceiling, bedsheets, even his corkboard was painted a pretty shade of blue. Posters on the wall featured distant galaxies, dolphins jumping through waves and shots of surfers on the ocean. And through the open window, the gentle susurrus of the ocean could be heard.

“Huh, it’s cleaner than I remember it being,” Lance hummed. “Guess my mum must’ve cleaned it for me. Or she paid Sylvio and Nadia to do it.” Then he took a closer look around the room, focusing on the shelf above his bed and the dresser in the corner. “No, was definitely her. She’s meticulous about putting things back _exactly_ where they’re supposed to go. Sylvio has a tendency to dust a little haphazardly.”

Keith chuckled quietly at that. “Wonder where he gets that from.”

“His father, _obviously._ ”

“You know, I think it’s a universal McClain trait to be a little haphazard.”

Lance simply raised an eyebrow at him. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Oh, we both know you do, in fact, know _exactly_ what I mean.”

“No comment.”

“Mhmm.”

“Agree to disagree.”

“ _Mhmm._ ”

“Well, moving on,” Lance chuckled nervously, “what do you think?”

Keith took a serious moment to seriously survey his surroundings. The bedspread was simple, a pretty series of blues that all matched, and there was even a body pillow with a galaxy-themed cover on it. Keith knew that he wouldn’t be using that pillow while they were sleeping in the same bed; Lance was a chronic big-spoon sleeper, not that Keith minded. Above there was a poster of Nasa’s picture of the Milky Way, watching over him every night as he slept.

The desk was small but neat, clutter localized to the shelf holding his monitor. And the corkboard screwed to the wall behind the computer screen contained a ton of photos, mostly selfies of Lance with friends and family at various scenic locations. Keith recognized one of Hunk and Pidge with him at the Garrison. With how Pidge was scowling, he could only assume it was from their first day as a team in the fighter class simulators. He recognized another as a large family picture in their backyard, facing the beach. The same beach he could see out Lance’s window.

It seemed that the beach was even prettier seen from inside Lance’s room than it was out on the sand, which Keith couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around. Was it simply because it was from his boyfriend’s room? Or did the love emanating from the man beside him have anything to do with it? Keith certainly had no idea, but he didn’t plan to think about it too hard. The way the sheer curtains waved in the gentle breeze coming in was breathtaking, and added another layer of calmness to the room.

Keith quickly decided he loved it here. So he told Lance as much.

“Do you really?” Lance asked gently, hand coming up to grip the curve of Keith’s waist.

“Of course I do,” Keith assured, carefully untangling Lance’s fingers from his hip to fill the gaps with his own. “It’s _you,_ wrapped up neat and tidy in four walls. And I love every part of you.”

Lance sighed, and his forehead dropped down to meet Keith’s shoulder. “How do you always know exactly what to say?”

“I don’t feel like I do,” Keith replied. “I feel like I could say the wrong thing at any moment and you’ll leave me.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Lance declared, righting himself again.

Keith turned his head to look back at him over his shoulder. “You know I’m not always good with words.”

“True,” Lance relented, “but you say a lot with your actions.” He let his thumb drag reverently along the back of Keith’s hand before pulling it up to his lips to press a lingering kiss to his knuckles, treating each to the same tender love as the last. “I always know exactly how much I mean to you when you do shit like this to me.”

A shaky exhale escaped Keith’s lips, and he sagged back into Lance’s body behind him, knowing he’ll support him without question. Just like he always did.

Lance’s free hand wound confidently around Keith’s waist, pulling him back more firmly and supporting him. He lowered their linked hands to turn his lips to Keith’s cheek instead, inching down towards his jawline with the same reverence he gave to his knuckles. Keith was putty, absolute _putty_ in his hands, completely surrendering himself to anything and everything Lance wanted to do.

“Hey,” Lance whispered against his skin, “look at me.”

Keith opened his eyes again, unsure of when he closed them, and found himself staring right into blue. _Lance’s_ blue. “There’s my handsome samurai,” Lance murmured.

“Here I am,” Keith replied just as gently. “And you’re my sexy sharpshooter.”

Lance gasped, a little loudly to be genuine. “You think I’m sexy?”

Keith giggled and bumped his head lightly to Lance’s. “You know I do.” Then he turned until he could press his lips to Lance’s before his boyfriend could say anything to ruin the moment.

Each kiss with Lance was just as wonderful and euphoric as their first kiss, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever tire of the simple give and take of it. But he also knew he never would. It was as easy as breathing, though he’d gladly give all the breath in his lungs to receive even one more kiss from this man.

Somehow, he was lucky enough to _earn_ these kisses.

Tasting Lance from the source at the seam of his lips was such a rush. He could taste the synthetic mint on his lips from the lip chap that was always in his pocket, and when he lightly nibbled on his top lip, feeling the sharp swoop of his cupid’s bow, he could taste a bit of salt with the mint.

He pulled back a bit, just far enough to see the entirety of Lance’s face clearly. He saw Lance blink blearily out of his periphery, but he was entirely too focused on how his dedication made Lance’s top lip red. It called to him like he was a helpless sailor to a siren, so he dove in headfirst, capturing Lance’s lips again to soothe the irritation with his tongue.

“Hey hey,” Lance breathed, pulling back. His hand came up from Keith’s waist to tangle in the hair at the base of his neck. “Take it easy on me.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, dipping forwards to continue what Lance stopped.

But Lance kept just enough space between them that their lips just barely brushed against each other. “Chewing on me. You’re stealing all my lip chap!”

Keith hummed dismissively and turned so he was facing his boyfriend more directly. “What happened to ‘sharing is caring’?”

Lance narrowed his eyes playfully at him. “You could’ve just asked to borrow the tube, y’know.”

“Meh, not as fun as licking it off your lips,” Keith smirked before leaning forward to do just that.

This time, Lance didn’t back away. He leaned into the kiss, following Keith’s lead with the ebb and flow. When Keith’s tongue peeked out to taste Lance’s lip chap at its source, Lance gasped, stilling slightly before retaliating with a slight nibble. It made Keith chuckle, relenting for a minute to go back to just kissing. 

“Woah,” Lance gasped under his breath, putting a bit of space between them again. “Since when do you know how to kiss this good?”

Keith shrugged, leaning in to press another kiss to Lance’s abused lips.

Lance sighed, letting himself feel it for a moment before pulling back. “Okay okay,” he mumbled, patting Keith’s shoulder distractedly, “we should actually change out of our armour. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to sweat through my under armour.”

Keith relented with a gentle sigh, stepping back from Lance to put some real distance between them. “Fine, you make a good point. But, I don’t really have anything to wear.”

“That’s fine!” Lance assured. “You can just wear something of mine. Anything you want,” he gestured over to the dresser in the corner. “I’m gonna shower quick.”

“Okay.” Keith stepped back until the back of his thighs pressed against the bed, and sat down lightly on the edge. He watched as his boyfriend grabbed a pair of boxers before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

The closed door gave Keith the chance to take in Lance’s room without curious eyes following his every move. He took his time to scan over each picture on the corkboard, seeing the different smiles Lance gave depending on who he was with. The way his eyes shone, how his nose crinkled slightly, the soft dimple in his cheek. He let his gaze drag over the scuff marks in the wall, marks painted over with almost-matching blue, the stretch marks in his desk chair, the constellations on his ceiling. It was perfect in its imperfectness, a perfect juxtaposition representing the man he fell in love with.

Lance had nothing to worry about when showing him his room. He loved it, just as much as he loved the man it belonged to.

With that thought, he stood up and made his way over to the dresser in hopes of finding something to wear. In their haste to get to Cuba, Keith had completely forgotten to stop by the Garrison to grab some of his clothes. So wearing Lance’s would just have to do. They were pretty similar in body shape, though he did have a little more muscle mass. He’d have to try to find a shirt that fit a little big.

The first drawer looked like it was just boxers and socks, so he grabbed a random pair of socks before closing that drawer and checking the next one. It appeared to hold various shirts, such as muscle shirts and t-shirts and long sleeves, so he grabbed the first dark t-shirt he found. Upon pulling it from the depths, he noticed it was an old Nasa shirt, logo worn from many washes. He couldn’t help but smile softly at that. _Of course_ Lance would have a Nasa shirt.

He dropped the shirt haphazardly on top of the dresser to continue his search for the rest of his attire. Pants were definitely a necessity when sitting down for dinner with your boyfriend’s family. The third drawer contained what looked to be sleepwear, but the final drawer held the type of article he was looking for; jeans. Fortunately for him, he and Lance were of similar height, so upon pulling a random pair of jeans up to his waist, he quickly determined that they’d fit him.

So he set about removing his armour, getting ready to shower after Lance was done. He’d never tire of the mundaneness of taking his Paladin armour off, the routine of taking each piece and placing it with care onto his bed before peeling the under armour off and putting on normal clothes. The methodical way he did it calmed his nerves, always had.

The socks he grabbed from Lance’s dresser had narwhals on them, he came to find out. He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. They were kinda cute, he had to begrudgingly admit, when they were smiling up at him with sparkles on their horns. He wasn’t surprised in the least to find out that his boyfriend owned socks like this.

When he picked up the worn Nasa shirt again, a faint scent from the material piqued his interest. He brought it up to his nose to get a better sense of it just as the door to the room creaked open.

“Whatcha doin’?” Lance asked casually, looping his damp towel around his shoulders.

Keith spared him a quick glance before pushing his nose into the fabric and breathing in a deep breath. It smelled faintly of the wood it was housed in for who-knows-how long, but mostly it smelled of clean laundry detergent and something uniquely _Lance._ Keith instantly decided he loved it. “It smells good,” was all he said in explanation as he threw the garment over his head.

“It probably smells like mama’s detergent and my dresser,” Lance chuckled. But he stepped over to Keith’s side and put his nose into the fabric, inhaling the scent for himself. “Yup, that’s all I smell. Mama’s always used this one detergent that smells like summer--”

“It smells like _you,_ though,” Keith said with a smile. “That’s why I like it.”  
  


That brought a blush to Lance’s cheeks. “Look at you, smooth-talker.”

“What?” Keith laughed.

“Just -- you!” Lance exclaimed, pressing a flurry of kisses to the side of Keith’s face. “You’re too cute, holy shit.”

“How am I cute?!”

“I don’t know! You just are!”

“Okay, fine, whatever you say,” Keith turned around in Lance’s hold and leaned his forehead against his boyfriend’s. “That means you’re cute too then.”

“I’ll take it,” Lance relented easily, and leaned in to kiss Keith again.

Even if they shared a million kisses over a million lifetimes, Keith didn’t think he’d ever get used to the feeling of Lance’s lips against his. The way they met in the middle, sharing the most intimate part of their souls in a symphony of taste, movement and feeling… Made Keith feel like the luckiest guy in the universe. “How did I get this lucky?” He whispered against Lance’s lips.

“What do you mean?” Lance asked just as softly.

“I never thought I’d be able to love and be loved like this,” Keith murmured and closed his eyes, letting the mood shift between them. “And I never thought you’d love me back. I’m just… Happy. I’m so happy when I’m with you. And my heart feels like it’s gonna burst from my chest and tell the whole world -- the whole _universe_ \-- how in love with you I am. Is that crazy? It’s probably crazy,” Keith laughed a little self-consciously.

“Sweetheart,” Lance cooed, hands coming up to cradle the sides of his face, smoothing over his cheeks tenderly. “You’re not crazy. How could you be? I’m right there with you. If you’re crazy, then I’m crazy too, cuz I’m not letting you do anything alone.”

Keith finally opened his eyes again, wanting -- needing -- to see the emotion on Lance’s face.

“I always thought I was too much for someone,” Lance chuckled a single humourless note a little bitterly, “that nobody could love me as much as I loved them. But then _you,_ ” he laughed incredulously then, sounding joyous and smitten, “you burst into my life, made me question which way was up and which way was down, and gave me your whole heart. _You,_ who’ve had so much taken away from you, freely gave me the most precious part of you in exchange for mine. Don’t you understand how much that means to me -- how much _you_ mean to me?”

“I’m starting to,” Keith admitted, hands coming up to rest on Lance’s chest.

“Good,” Lance said fondly, pressing one more firm, lingering kiss to Keith’s willing lips. “Because you just might break me if we keep having conversations like this.”

“Okay,” Keith chuckled fondly. “Try not to let these be an hourly occurrence. Got it.”

“Good,” Lance traced his thumb along the high swoop of Keith’s cheek one final time before stepping away. “On that note, you should probably showers sooner rather than later so we can rejoin the others. I’m surprised Slyvio and Nadia haven’t burst down my door to get to you yet.”

“Don’t give them any ideas,” Keith said with a raised brow. He gathered up the clothes he scavenged from his boyfriend’s dresser and disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up before reentering into the family entertainment,

*~*~*~*  
  


True to Lance’s word, as soon as they made it down the stairs hand-in-hand, his niece and nephew pounced on Keith, dragging him back into the living room to play. Lance was roped into helping prepare dinner, which he didn’t mind. It was nice to cook with his mama again, and he could still keep an eye on his boyfriend to see if he was getting overwhelmed.

“He’s fine, _mijo,_ ” mama said, coming over to press a kiss to his cheek. “He’s handling himself very well in the chaos.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Lance mused, watching as Keith dove behind the couch to avoid getting shot. “I was a little worried, I must admit.”

“He’s a good one,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “I’m glad you finally brought him home to us.”

“Ma _maaaa_ ,” Lance whined, leaning into her dramatically. “I wasn’t exactly able to bring him home much sooner, with us being in space and all.”

“I know, I know,” she teased, “but it’s still nice to finally meet the boy who’s had all of your attention lately.”

Lance watched fondly as Keith was teamed up on by Naida and Sylvio, dying to round after round of Nerf bullets to his midsection, complete with dramatic flail and tongue lolling out. He couldn’t help but chuckle fondly at the display. How was his loner boyfriend better at being the cool uncle than he was?

“I’m so in love with him,” Lance said to nobody in particular. “I can’t believe my body can hold so much love for him. How is this possible?”

“You’ve always had a big heart, _mijo,_ ” she said, giving his hip a fond pat before stepping over to the oven to check on dinner. “You’ve always loved with your whole being, not just with your heart. It just took you some time to find someone who had just as much love to give.”

Lance nodded, watching as Keith stood up and tackled the kids to the ground, tickling their sides until they laughed and squealed “Uncle, uncle!”. Not knowing if they were yelling for him or just trying to get Keith to relent, Lance swooped in to the rescue, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him into the air, blowing raspberries into his neck. It was Keith’s turn to laugh and squeal and kick his legs out under the onslaught.

“Now boys,” mama chided from the kitchen. Keith went slack under Lance’s ministrations, surely feeling scolded by her, but Lance was more immune to her tactics, not feeling shamed in the slightest. “Put him down, Lance,” she instructed. “I need his help in here. You keep the kids entertained until supper is ready.”

Knowing better than to argue, he put Keith down so he could traipse out of the warzone and into hell. He saluted his boyfriend off to see his mother, but while he was distracted, his niece and nephew pounced, dragging him down to the floor to continue their battle.

He tried his best to keep half an eye on Keith in the kitchen alone with his mother, but that was the best he could do with the kids shooting at him. He managed to snag Keith’s abandoned gun from the floor, shooting while glancing over his shoulder, but he missed a few of his targets which earned trash talk from his nephew. So he decided to really focus back on the fight as if it were life or death, shooting his niece in the forehead so the ammo sticks out like a unicorn horn.

Dissolving into laughter, the three of them nearly miss mama’s call for dinner, but when Keith stumbled back into the warzone, Nadia was ruthless enough to shoot him in the stomach when he didn’t expect it. First he looked shocked, then offended, and then he looked suspicious as he crept towards where Nadia laid prone on the floor, pouncing on her when he was in range and scooping her up, declaring that it was time to eat.

Not wanting to get the same treatment, Sylvio put his gun down on the couch and quietly made his way into the dining room, eying Keith suspiciously as he walked past. Keith and Lance shared a look before breaking out into laughter and following him into the next room.

Lance immediately noticed that there was a new chair at the table beside his, the match to his mismatched chair and flushed. Originally, when his parents bought the house together, there were only two chairs that came with the small table. But as their family grew, so did the table, and a new pair of chairs was added as a new member moved to the big kid table. Rachel’s chair’s pair still sat out in the garage, beside where Lance’s had been, until tonight.

His dad ushered Keith to his chair, and his boyfriend took his seat without knowing the significance of it. Lance flushed and caught his mother’s eye, sharing a look with her before sitting down in his seat.

Hopefully they could get through the whole ordeal without his family heckling the hell out of his boyfriend.

*~*~*~*

Dinner with the family was actually okay, save when his sister Rachel asked how the two of them met. Keith admitted that he hadn’t known who Lance was when they met rescuing Shiro only because he had thought his name was Taylor. Lance immediately understood why that had been the case and felt as his face flushed up a storm, but luckily his boyfriend was there to catch him as he explained that he saw glimpses of his past and future while he was stuck in the Quantum Abyss. 

Keith was always there for him when he needed him, and he loved that about him.

Mama wouldn’t let them help with dishes when she caught the two of them yawning behind their hands during dessert, so they were sent up to bed with strict instructions not to come back down until they felt well rested after their journey. With a _(hopefully?)_ mock salute, Keith soldiered on up the stairs to follow Mama McClain’s orders.

As soon as they were closed in behind the walls of Lance’s room, Keith leaned back heavily against the door, a look of shocked horror on his face. “Did I just _salute_ to your mother?”

“I think you did?” Lance answered hesitantly. “Honestly, I was hoping that it was a joke.”

“It’s all kind of a blur,” Keith admitted. “I’m not positive I didn’t black out back there.”

“Aww, Keith,” Lance cooed, pulled him away from the door and wrapped him up in a hug, “I didn’t know you were _that_ intimidated by my mother.”

“She’s your mother, the person who birthed you and raised you… _And_ she’s the person you respect most in the universe,” he replied, sounding a little muffled where his mouth was pressed against the material on Lance’s shoulder. “Of course I’m going to be a little intimidated by her.”

“She loves you already, you know.” Lance murmured and initiated an impromptu dance in the middle of his childhood bedroom. It wasn’t much more than gentle swaying, but Keith followed where he led without question, and even tucked his face more firmly into the junction where Lance’s neck met his shoulder. “She told me that you’re a good one, and that she’s glad I finally brought you home. Apparently my whole family, save Ronnie, has been waiting to meet the boy whose taken up all of my attention.”

“I’m not sure if I’ve taken _all_ of your attention,” Keith replied petulantly. His fingers slipped into the empty belt loops on the back of Lance’s jeans, something to tether himself to. “We were fighting a war until like, yesterday.”

“I know,” Lance pressed a kiss to the top of Keith’s head. “Doesn’t mean my family didn’t want to know you. I’m actually surprised they left you alone for this long.”

Keith hummed and rubbed a hand up and down Lance’s back. “What did your sister mean by ‘the McClain Hazing’?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Lance said with a wince. “They didn’t haze you, so you’re fine.”

“Are you sure they didn’t?”

“Trust me. You’d know.”

“Yikes…”

“Yeah,” Lance glanced out of his open window, surprised to see that the sky was already turning purple in the fading light. “We should probably go to bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty beat.”

As soon as Lance mentioned how tired he was, Keith yawned. They both laughed a little at the situation before untangling themselves, and Lance gestured back towards the bed. “Do you want wall side or open?”

“Open,” Keith decided, starting to strip out of his jeans and socks. “I know you’ll be latched onto me like a leech in the night, so at least if I need to pee, if I’m on the open side, I can squeeze my way out of your octopus hold.”

“Rude, but solid logic,” Lance relented, and pulled his shirt over his head. Once he got his jeans and socks off, he moseyed over to his dresser to grab a pair of sleep pants. “You want anything else to sleep in?”

“No,” Keith hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m good with this shirt. I haven’t worn it for that long.”

“And it’s pretty comfy, right?” Lance asked knowingly.

The pout he got in response was telling enough, but Keith still dug his grave when he said “Yeah, I guess.”

That made Lance breathe out a fond sound before gesturing over to the door. “I think there’s still some extra toothbrushes in the bathroom?”

“Perfect.” Keith made his way over to Lance’s side and twined their fingers together. “Lead the way.”

Together they made their way across the hall into the bathroom, ready to brush their teeth and retire for the night. As soon as they entered the room, Lance disentangled their hands so he could duck down and check the cabinet beneath the sink, hoping that there was still a spare toothbrush that Keith could use. Luckily, there was a single toothbrush left still in a variety package, and funny enough, it was red.

The irony didn’t go over either of their heads, and when Lance offered it up to Keith, both of them laughed a little. They brushed their teeth together in silence, and Lance took an extra minute to put a little cream on his face before retiring back to their room for the night.

As soon as Lance shut the door behind them again, reality settled in on Keith. He was spending the night in his boyfriend’s childhood room, having met the most important people in his partner’s life. Somehow, despite being an outsider, someone they didn’t know save through their son, the family welcomed him with open arms and open hearts. He didn’t really know how to handle that.

“Keith?” Lance stopped and turn to face his boyfriend, a question on his lips, but when he saw tears in his eyes, he was back at Keith’s side quick as a flash. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing, I--” he wiped the incriminating evidence from beneath his eyes, but the damage had already been done-- “sorry, I… I’m not crying, I swear.”

“Okay?” Lance said hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Keith assured, trying to wave off his concerned boyfriend. “I just-- I dunno, I didn’t think they’d accept me like they did.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“I dunno…” Keith shrugged helplessly. “I’m just being stupid, I guess.”

“Aw, you’re not being stupid,” Lance assured. “It’s daunting meeting your boyfriend’s family, let alone _mine._ But I promise that they love you.”

“I hope so…”  
  


“I sorta lucked out with your family. But I have to admit, your mother scares the hell out of me sometimes.”

That earned an honest laugh out of Keith.

“No, seriously!” Lance exclaimed, putting an arm around Keith’s shoulders and leading him towards the bed. “She’s terrifying when she wants to be, which is, like, all the time. It’s different cuz you’re her son, but even before we started dating, she scared me. Now though? _Terrified._ ”

“You don’t have to be this nice,” Keith sniffled. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Lance pressed a kiss to the side of Keith’s head. “I’m not being nice if it’s true. I worry some nights I’ll wake up to her staring down at me, ready to interrogate me about my intentions with her son.”

“I think she trusts me to take care of myself,” Keith chuckled. “But if you ever hurt me beyond repair, don’t think she wouldn’t come to avenge me.”

“Oh, I wholeheartedly believe that,” Lance shuddered. “Completely and without question. It’s a good thing I’ll never do that to you.”

“I know,” Keith agreed, pressing a swift kiss to Lance’s cheek.

With that, Lance climbed into bed first, and once he got settled in the familiar sheets, held his arms open for Keith, who fell into him without question.

They laid there together for a few long moments, simply basking in each other’s company, when Keith noticed something on the ceiling above them that he hadn’t noticed before. “Are those glow-in-the-dark stars?”

“Yeah!” Lance pointed straight up above their heads to the large constellation depicted there. “My parents got them for my birthday when I was… Four? Six? I don’t remember, I’ve had them for as long as I can remember. I made my own set of constellations up there.”

“I can tell,” Keith said dryly. “They’re not real ones.”

That earned him a lighthearted _smack._ “With how many stars we’ve seen in our travels, how do you know I didn’t replicate any of them?”

“The probability of that is _very_ low--”

“But not zero!”

“--but fair point,” Keith relented. “Besides, I do like them a lot.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Keith said earnestly. “These are _your_ constellations. Of course I like them.”

And he did. They were already starting to glow in the dim twilight of the bedroom, lighting up their very own night sky with asterisms and lone stars placed at the whims of a younger Lance. It was like a hint into the very soul of the man he laid in bed with. So of course he liked it.

There was one formation of stars he recognized, however; “Is that ‘leo’?” Keith asked, pointing towards the middle of the ceiling.

Lance looked to where Keith was pointing and laughed a little. “Oh yeah, it is. I think it was the only constellation pattern I knew when I put them up.”

“Well that makes sense,” Keith said seriously, but a smile tugged at his lips. “It’s your zodiac.”

“Since when do you know about the zodiac?”

“I studied astronomy! We had to at the garrison--”

“That doesn’t explain how you know the zodiac, sweet-cheeks.”

“‘Sweet-cheeks’? Ugh, no--”

“What, are you ready to un-pin that conversation?”

“Long enough to vote ‘no’ to ‘sweet-cheeks’, yes!”

“In all seriousness,” Lance said, his hand coming up to stroke the side of Keith’s face, “are there any nicknames you _might_ not mind? I’m starting to run out of options here.”

“You?” Keith laughed lightly, leaning into Lance’s touch. “That sounds fake.”

“ _Keith._ ”

Keith sighed and leaned back into Lance’s chest, giving his question some serious thought. He knew the ones he _didn’t_ like -- ‘sweetcheeks’, ‘babydoll’ and ‘angel face’ -- but some of the other ones, like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’ he didn’t find he minded as much. So he said so.

“Really?” Lance questioned, sounding surprised by Keith’s admission. “I didn’t think you liked any of them.”

“I don’t mind ‘sweetheart’ in particular,” Keith admitted bashfully. He felt his cheeks heating up at the confession, so he tried to burrow his way beneath the covers.

But Lance didn’t let him get very far, pushing the covers back down to expose his boyfriend again. “Aww, _sweetheart,_ don’t go hiding on me!” He teased.

Keith groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Why do I ever tell you anything,” he whined.

“Because you love me!” Lance sing-songed, pulling Keith back up into his rightful place against his chest. “As payback, you can call me whatever nickname you want!”

“Anything?”

“Anything!”

Keith gave it some serious thought for a moment, wondering what would roll off his tongue and suit his boyfriend. In all honesty, he could call Lance just about any pet name in the book and he’d be happy, but Keith knew he’d feel like an absolute fool calling him ‘sugar’ or ‘angel’.

But one nickname stood out from the depths of his mind, something he could recall his father calling his mother in the rare moments he mentioned her:

“What about ‘darling’?”

Behind him, Lance squeaked and went completely still, scarcely even breathing. When Keith looked back over his shoulder at him, he was surprised to see Lance’s face entirely red.

“What?” He asked. “Don’t like hearin’ me call you darlin’?”

Lance squeaked again and buried his face into the back of Keith’s neck while Keith laughed like a cat who got the cream. _Bingo._ “Darlin’,” he purred, “don’t go hidin’ your face now.”

“Okay okay!” Lance squeezed Keith’s midsection tighter before emerging from his hiding place. “Wow, I uh -- I didn’t realize how much I’d like hearing you call me your darling. It threw me, okay? I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”

“Will you,” Keith smirked, “ _darlin’?_ ”

Lance leveled him with a look, complete with a petulant pout. “No…”

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” Keith teased, “I’m not sure how much of a pet names kinda guy I am, so I’m not sure how often I’ll use it on you.”

“That doesn’t help, no,” Lance dug his fingers into a spot at Keith’s waist that never failed to make him squeal just to try to even the score. “But this does!”

“Lance!!” Keith giggled, trying to escape from Lance’s ruthless assault. But Lance held fast, one arm keeping him pressed tight against him while the other continued the attack.

But when Keith yawned between giggles, Lance stopped his ministrations and pressed an apology into his neck. “We should definitely get some sleep now,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” Keith breathed out between lingering chortles. “I’m really tired all of a sudden.”

Lance casually slipped a leg between Keith’s, getting comfortable for their hopefully long night of sleep ahead of them. “I’m really glad you came home with me.”

“Me too,” Keith whispered back, and grabbed one of Lance’s hands from his middle, bringing it up to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles. “Thanks for convincing me to come. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight sweetheart.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you guys liked this fic! And if you did, consider leaving kudos and/or a comment!
> 
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